Padded covers have been used for a number of years to protect the heads of golf clubs from banging into one another when they are carried in a golf bag. Typically, these head covers are made of soft, padded bulky material, and extend around the head and a relatively short distance over the end of the shaft where it attaches to the head. These head covers are closed at the top end (when the club is in the bag) and are open at the lower end, from which the shaft extends. The opening is relatively wide, and permits easy placement of the cover on the club head, and removal of the cover from the club head when that particular club is desired for use in the play of the game of golf.
Head covers of the type described above have been considered adequate for golf clubs which employ steel shafts. The advent of graphite shafts, however, has created a need to protect the portion of the shaft, which extends outwardly from the top of a golf bag, against contact with the heads of uncovered clubs or from contact with the shafts of adjacent clubs. Additional wear also is produced from the golf bag dividers rubbing against the shafts while the golf cart is bouncing along or the bag shifts as a golfer walks along. This produces a "rub ring" around the shaft. Graphite shafts are more prone to scratching and nicking than metal shafts; and most golfers desire to reduce the potential for marring of the finish of the graphite shafts of their clubs to as great an extent as possible.
Efforts to protect the exposed portions of graphite shafts from damage, when clubs are being transported or stored in a golf bag, have resulted in a modification of the golf club head cover by sewing a "knit sock" into the opening at the bottom of the head cover. The sock extends downwardly from the head cover opening, and terminates in a slightly enlarged end for the ingress and egress of a golf club head and shaft. Essentially, this "sock" is an elongated open-ended tube, the upper end of which is secured all around the bottom end of the head cover. To provide the necessary amount of protection without excess bulk, the sock has to have a relatively small internal diameter in its relaxed position. This effectively is provided by means of elongated ribs of the type employed in socks for personal wear.
While such knit sock-like shaft covers, attached to the head cover, theoretically provide the desired protection, a number of disadvantages exist. One of the major problems is that it is difficult to insert a club into the combined sock and head cover for storage, since the club head must be inserted through the open lower end of the sock, and then the entire unit must be stretched and pulled downwardly until the club head is secured inside the upper end of the head cover. The sock then must be pulled down around the shaft; and the golf club then may be stored in the golf bag.
Frequently, when the golf club is dropped into the golf bag, the bottom end of the sock shaft protector catches the edge of the bag, or dividers across the opening in the bag, and is pushed up toward the bottom end of the head cover. This is inherent in the material out of which such shaft protector "socks" must be made, since they need to be very flexible in order to permit the passage of a golf club head through them into or out of the head cover. Whenever the sock, however, is pushed up from its lowermost position, it is possible to expose a part of the graphite shaft above the lip of the golf bag, subjecting the shaft to possible scratching and marring.
Another problem which exists with "sock" type head covers is that the knit socks wear out rapidly. This is a result of the friction encountered when the head cover is placed on the head of a golf club and is removed from the head of a golf club.
Another disadvantage of the "sock" type shaft protectors, described above, is that since they are attached to the open end of the head cover, the sock tends to pull the cover to one side or the other to spoil the "balanced" look, which otherwise is obtained by head covers which do not have this additional "sock" shaft protector attached to them. While this might be considered a minor disadvantage, embroidered logos frequently are put on the head covers to promote a particular golf club or other products, and distortion or interference with the ideal appearance of these head covers is considered unacceptable.
An additional disadvantage of the sock type head covers is that if one is dropped on the ground, the golfer must bend over to pick it up, since the sock prevents the end of a golf club from being inserted into the bottom end of the cover to lift it from the ground. In contrast, a standard head cover, not having a shaft protector sleeve or "sock" on it, easily may be lifted by inserting the head of a club into it without requiring the golfer to bend over to pick up the cover.
It is desirable to provide a combination head cover and shaft protector for a golf club, which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art devices noted above, and which is simple to use, attractive in appearance, and long lasting.